New railway linking China to Central Asia countries, bypassing Russia, begins construction in Kyrgyzstan

By Martina Sapio – The KYIV Independent

Construction has begun on a new railway linking China to Central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov announced at the Dec. 27 groundbreaking ceremony.

The new route, part of China’s economic expansion efforts, aims to expand Chinese commercial influence in Central Asia and Europe while bypassing Russian territory.

“This route will ensure the supply of goods from China to Kyrgyzstan and then to Central Asia” and other countries, including Turkey and the European Union, Japarov said in a press briefing, as quoted by the Kyrgyz Presidential Press Office.